Layer 2 working group

Welcome to the documentation repository of the Layer 2 working group. It holds defining documents like the working group charter and procedural documentation like meeting notes.

Note

This was the "Hydra" working group before and we expanded the scope in June 2025. While we had often had conversations across various layer 2 projects, agenda items and meeting notes if not otherwise mentioned were about Hydra.

Charter

Important

The charter was updated when we moved the changed scope of the working group.

Why

Why is this working group needed?

• Ensure interoperability across the various emerging Layer 2 projects
• Break up silos and cross-pollinate projects across the broader domain of scaling Cardano transaction processing
• Identify and scope fundable features and projects related to Layer 2 technology to be ratified by the community (e.g. through intersect)
• Open discussion and governance of the hydra project roadmap

What

What are we doing concretely?

• Share progress and gather feedback on individual project deliveries
• Discuss standards and Cardano Improvement Proposals (CIPs) related to layer 2
• Prioritize and get feedback for individual project features (e.g. Hydra features)
• Chat about new layer 2 catalyst proposals and long term layer 2 projects, for example Midgard, zkFold, subbit, Cardano Lightning, μgraph, ...

How

How are we producing results?

Where and how work items produced

• Meeting notes are stored in meetings/
• The repository will hold any artifacts produced, unless more suitable places are available.

Work group meetings

• Bi-weekly using Google Meet, Wednesday 12:00 UTC
• Subscribe and join using lu.ma calendar

Collaboration channels

• #wg-layer2 on Intersect Discord Invite link
• #ask-hydra on IOG Discord Invite link

How membership is governed

Warning

This has proven to be a bit of an overkill given the working group is not conducting many votes. Hence this process is under review.

• Signal interest by opening an issue and/or join a work group meeting
• You are a member as long as you join regularly the work group meetings
• New members will gain voting rights in the meeting following the one they joined
• After not attending three consecutive meetings, members are removed
• Member list is kept in this charter

Members

See also @wg-layer2 github team, in no particular order:

• Sebastian Nagel
• George Flerovsky (missed 3)
• Sasha Bogicevic
• Tudor Cotruta
• Philip Di Sarro
• Pi Lanningham (missed 2)
• Ilia Rodionov
• Franco Testagrossa
• Noon van der Silk
• Trym Bruset
• Caiña Costa (missed 1)
• Sam Leathers (missed 3)
• Lucas Pedro
• Sandip Pandey
• Perry Wasserbauer
• Aaron Boyle

Tip

If you read this far you might want to join us? Signal interest on above's collaboration channels by dropping a message on Discord, on Twitter, or by opening an issue!